# My new Vinotemp configuration



## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

I wanted to post my experiences with my frigador configuration and give back to the forums all the good information that I've learned from my other BOTL's.

I spend a lot of time on the road and away from home. My wife of 22 years doesn't gripe at my habit and I aim to keep it that way. For those of you that are married, there is nothing worse than putting unneeded stress on the spouse. Calling her from afar to tell you how much you miss her and following up by having her check how the stogies are sleeping every day doesn't earn you cool poins. I wanted something very low maintenance that I could go away, even months at a time, and have her just poke her head on everything to ensure my babies are resting nicely

I live in West Texas and with the temperatures in the summer getting up around 110 at times, the humidity constantly hanging around 25%, I needed something that would keep my stogies at 65-70 degrees and not break the bank trying to cool the house in the summer to accomplish this feat.

The Vinotemp 28 Bottle was purchased at Target for $199. I truly believe it's the most bang for your buck for its size unless you're lucky to catch one on sale or pick up one second hand. It utilizes thermoelectric cooling. This is a good since from what I've read, long-term refrigeration and stogies isn't a good thing. It sucks the moisture right out of your cigars. I've had no problems using the thermostat that comes with the systems to keep it at a constant 65 degrees. Do not trust the reading on the door with the vinotemp, it can be off by a few degrees










I've got 3 temperature gauges inside and I use those to monitor the temperature. We'll have to see how the vinotemp works in the heat of the summer where I keep the house at around 78 degrees. I'll keep this post updated. So far, I've not had to use any type of external thermostat switch contraption. I'm using Oregon Scientific Thermo Clock RMR203HGA and two Oregon Scientific external temp/hyrgro sensors model THGR122NX









[I purchased 5 strips of 3/8 thickness 4"X36" Spanish cedar from Woodcraft. After taking out the wine racks that come with the vinotemp out, I elected to cut each strip into two 15 and 1/8th across pieces. This will allow me to have two 4" deep boards per shelf and allow plenty of ventilation. After cutting my 5 strips, I know have 5 shelves

I purchased 2 lbs of beads from Heartfelt Beads. Surface area is everything when it comes to beads so I got a few platters from the wife's cupboards that are just about as wide as the Vinotemp. 1lb up top, and 1lb up top. Overkill but with beads it's better to have overkill than not enough.

It's probably even more of an overkill with my Hydra I picked up. Remember, not wanting to worry about those cigars while I was on the road. That is the idea. Active humidification shouldn't even have to kick on that often with the beads, except to remoisten the beads and kick on after I open to grab a smoke. We'll see how this combination works in the long run but I've talked with a few members here and many of them have this same configuration and they're pleased with it.









I went ahead and got the Hydra Fan Kit which comes with a ribbon cable, a 3 way port, and one fan. I purchased an additional two fans to fill all three ports up. I've read on these forums of some other members using 3 pin 12V DC CPU/cooling fans bought at your local computer store that actually push more air. These fans, as part as the hydra kit, are VERY small and I was somewhat disappointed with their size. If I ever replace them, I'll be getting larger ones. I utilized the fans to screw two of the boards together. Two facing down, 1 facing up, mounted on the underneath.









The Hydra's DC adapter ribbon cable is fed through the left side of the door. I was afraid to drill out the drainage plug in fear of messing it up. I have not plugged up the drain plug. I believe, and will find out when it gets a little warmer, that keeping it open will combat condensation if that ever is a problem. There is currently only about a 5 degree temp difference between the room where the Vinotemp is stored in and inside Vinotemp temperature (65). This summer, it will surely get as high as 10-13 degrees so I'm going to leave my options open.









Some pictures of my desktop humidor and a couple of old empty cigar boxes I got to assist me in storage. Quantity is lacking but I hope to soon remedy this. I've got two cedar trays on order but they are on backorder until April.


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## stevieray (Sep 28, 2006)

That's a pretty sweet looking setup :tu


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## chippewastud79 (Sep 18, 2007)

Very nice setup there :tu


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## nozero (Jul 7, 2007)

Nice rig! Thanks for the tips and pics!
:tu


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## bobarian (Oct 1, 2007)

Looks alot like my setup, cept the hydra. You may end up taking out a couple of shelves and stacking boxes for more capacity. I store my singles in boxes as well, they seem to resist the big swings in humidity that sometimes happens when they are exposed. Nice job! Now fill-er up!:ss


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## Simplified (Feb 18, 2006)

Fantastic looking new box now fill it up!


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## jkorp (Sep 27, 2007)

That looks real good. I'm interested to see how the hydra works out for you.
I don't want to post much because this is your build thread, but just keep in mind the condensate drain. Your unit will probably run a lot, so it will constantly be pulling moisture out of the environment in the Vino. I would plug the dain and collect the water in an open container. This is what I do and it keeps the water in the environment and allows it to disipate back into the air. I've been set up like this for a while with no problems.

Can't wait to see a pic with it finished and stocked.


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## RUDY351 (Mar 7, 2007)

_Thanks for the info. and pics. I just bought the same cooler at Target on friday. I have almost the same situation with the temps in my house in the summer but not as bad. Hope it works out for us._


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## Old Sailor (Jul 27, 2006)

Very nice setup, can't wait ta see it filled too:tu:tu


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## skyhigh340 (Oct 12, 2007)

Thanks for all of the info. I'm looking at doing a vinotemp with some of my tax return, I'm definitly gonna copy your set up! Thanks again!


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## ljh824 (Oct 14, 2007)

looks great!!


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## tym2relax (Oct 3, 2007)

Great job and thanks for posting. I am on the verge of going down that path for the very same reason. I have cigars all over the house and get tired of fussing over them. Would be nice to have them all in one place.

Please keep us posted on the Hydra. I would be curious how much time goes by before the 'alarm' goes off.


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## redryno247 (Aug 29, 2007)

very nice post quite informitive, it'll be nice to see how it worked out this summer. Nice job!


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## schnell987 (Feb 13, 2007)

Great post & pics! :tu Looks like you did your research and had some fun building that puppy. Looking forward to seeing your subsequent posts on how it does in the heat of the summer.

Enjoy.:ss


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## shilala (Feb 1, 2008)

Suhweet. You definately done good.


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## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

Just an update. I received some advice to place the Hydra at the bottom of the Vinotemp, platter of beads in the middle and up top. From what I was told, Relative Humidity rises. This hopefully will give me a more even spread of RH throughout the Vinotemp.

On day two of seasoning. All that cedar is smelling awesome and the hydra is kicking on a lot less. I suppose all that cedar is slowly absorbing the moisture.


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## Fishbeadtwo (May 30, 2006)

Great post and pics, please keep us updated on the project!


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## Mtmouse (Jun 11, 2007)

Nice looking setup.


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## Dgar (Sep 12, 2006)

Very nice looking set up, I hope your stogies stay nice and cool this summer.


Me, if I put beads on a platter, I would have those things rolling evreywhere.


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## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

I was in the Fort Bliss Post Exchange today and noticed they had two of the Oust Fans left. I've read elsewhere that many members believed these were going to be discontinued so I went ahead and grabbed the last two.

I'm seeing quite a difference in the RH from the bottom to top even with the Hydra at the bottom, beads in the middle and top sections. It may just take time for all that wood to season properly but I figured I might want to grab these Oust Fans to assist in circulating the RH. 

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.


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## jkorp (Sep 27, 2007)

My Vino runs about 3% higher at the bottom versus the top, and that's with one Oust fan. It's not a problem, just get the RH window right. My bottom runs 67-69% and the top runs about 64-66%, good in my book:tu


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## ljh824 (Oct 14, 2007)

Diesel said:


> I was in the Fort Bliss Post Exchange today and noticed they had two of the Oust Fans left. I've read elsewhere that many members believed these were going to be discontinued so I went ahead and grabbed the last two.
> 
> I'm seeing quite a difference in the RH from the bottom to top even with the Hydra at the bottom, beads in the middle and top sections. It may just take time for all that wood to season properly but I figured I might want to grab these Oust Fans to assist in circulating the RH.
> 
> I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.


I was at Bliss a few months ago. Ate at the little German place on base. Not bad.


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## MrStogie (Oct 15, 2007)

What an unbelievable setup you have there. The only mod I've made to the vinotemp was adding spanish cedar shelves to replace the metal shelves that came with the wine fridge.


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## Shaun Raney (Feb 1, 2008)

Diesel said:


> I was in the Fort Bliss Post Exchange today and noticed they had two of the Oust Fans left. I've read elsewhere that many members believed these were going to be discontinued so I went ahead and grabbed the last two.
> 
> I'm seeing quite a difference in the RH from the bottom to top even with the Hydra at the bottom, beads in the middle and top sections. It may just take time for all that wood to season properly but I figured I might want to grab these Oust Fans to assist in circulating the RH.
> 
> I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.


The fans are no longer on the website they have a new design that requires no batteries at all.


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## Little General (Jan 12, 2008)

I just talked the wife into the same setup... When it comes in I'll hit you up for some advice.


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## shilala (Feb 1, 2008)

I have oust fans in my vino's now, but that's just because I was too lazy to wire in fans.
It's be nice to have a couple nice quiet muffin fans with a fan speed controller on them.
It's also be nice to have some led strips running up the sides out in front so I can turn them on and actually see whats in there.


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## montecristo#2 (May 29, 2006)

Finally got around to taking a picture of my new vinotemp.

I am using 1.5 lbs of 65% beads spread out in several locations. So far the humidity is stable at 65%, which is perfect. I didn't plug the drain, but I also haven't turned it on yet.  No need as the temp is less than 60F in my house these days. Luckily for me, the RH is usually between 60-68% in my apartment, so I really don't need it to do much.

Eventually, I might want to replace the shelf on the bottom to gain some extra storage space. I have two boxes on top that are for singles/misc sticks.


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## Chewie (Nov 2, 2006)

I've got the identical setup as Diesel. 2 lbs beads, Hydra, Woodcraft Cedar shelves. Well, the cigars might vary :ss

Could not be happier!!! Just my :2, definitely keep the hydra on the bottom of the fridge and use some fans to push the air up and around the fridge.

I also debadged my fridge :tu


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## Soprano3695 (Jul 16, 2007)

Nice setup...I'll be getting one setup soon before summer rolls around.

Thanks for sharing. :tu


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## tfar (Dec 27, 2007)

Diesel,

great set-up. Can you report back on long term reliability? Did you get any condensation problems with the hydra in there? Is the RH stable? Do you still have Rh differences between top and bottom? How often does the hydra kick in, if at all?

I am wondering whether I need a hydra for when I am gone for longer periods. That's why I am asking.

Thanks,

Till


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## zmancbr (Nov 20, 2007)

Very sexy setup. I am a cabinet man myself but I must say some of the vinotemp configurations the gorillas on here make look awesome!! You definitely have a nice setup there!!:tu


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## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

tfar said:


> Diesel,
> 
> great set-up. Can you report back on long term reliability? Did you get any condensation problems with the hydra in there? Is the RH stable? Do you still have Rh differences between top and bottom? How often does the hydra kick in, if at all?
> 
> ...


Tfar,

No condensation problems as of yet but it hasn't gotten real hot here in El Paso. Without the AC on, the worst temp I've experienced in my computer room in the late afternoon when the Sun is beating down on this side of the house is 78 degrees. The Vinotemp holds pretty steady at 67 degrees as I have it set for that. The Vinotemp really don't kick on that often after I wet the beads but does kick off more when the beads start losing their moisture. After about a week the hydra will kick in more often and will remain constant for another 2 weeks.

So, to sum it up, it the hydra lasts for about 3 weeks before I'll fill it up and remoisturize the beads at the same time with 5 or 6 sprays of distilled per platter.

*EDIT: RH is about 2% between top and bottom. I've got two Oust fans working it though.

Hope that helps


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## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

I wanted to revive this post since I've actually been away from home for a few months now and the long term storage, with little interface from the wife, is being put to test. This new information may be important to someone who is thinking about going a similar route.

Upon a power loss and reset, the Vinotemp's temperature thermostat goes back to lowest value of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The Hydra is reset back to it's default value of 70% RH. 
Colder air cannot hold as much water vapor as warmer air, therefore when the power is loss and reapplied and these values are adjusted, the Hydra has to work a lot harder to keep the RH% at 70%.

This can be overcome if you don't have a loved one by utilizing a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). 

I've found that setting the temperature of the Vinotemp to the max of 67 degrees (I believe, not home to verify) and the Hydra located at the bottom of the Vinotemp to 63.5% RH, it keeps the middle and top shelves around 67% RH. This may be because I'm using the beads as well. I've read somewhere that RH increases from top to bottom, or rises. Utilizing the 65% beads assure that if there is a power loss, and the temp/RH values are reset, the RH will hold quite a long time (Untested for duration). 

Hope this helps anyone looking at going with a similar setup


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## louistogie (Jun 21, 2007)

Awesome post!


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## bartolomeo (Aug 14, 2009)

Any update Diesel on your Vino and the results your seeing?

Thanks,

Bart


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## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

It's been a long time since I've been here but wanted to provide an update on the configuration. It seems the longer I use it, the more stable the RH and temperature is holding. 

RH% still varies 1 to 2 % from top to bottom but it is stable at all times. I must reiterate that everytime there is a power loss, I have to raise the temp of the Vino to the warmest setting of 67 degrees (defaults back to 55-red wine default) and lower the hydra to 63.5%. 

With these settings, I'm seeing my RH between 67-72% all times of the year and it can't be beat.

EDIT: I wanted to point out that the longer my cigars and cedar are held in this environment, the less often I have to reaplly moisture to the beads or refill the active hydra. The last time I've done either has been at least 10 weeks. This may be because I've got approx 300 cigars in it, and haven't added any new stockage since March 09. I have it sitting right next to my computer desk so I do open it at least once a week to let fresh air in and get a wiff of the great aroma. My cigar smoking has slowed down a bit but i'm sure it will pick up soon since I'm going to attempt AGAIN to quit smoking these nasty cigarettes.


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## bartolomeo (Aug 14, 2009)

Diesel said:


> It's been a long time since I've been here but wanted to provide an update on the configuration. It seems the longer I use it, the more stable the RH and temperature is holding.
> 
> RH% still varies 1 to 2 % from top to bottom but it is stable at all times. I must reiterate that everytime there is a power loss, I have to raise the temp of the Vino to the warmest setting of 67 degrees (defaults back to 55-red wine default) and lower the hydra to 63.5%.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the update and sounds like you have it perfect for what you want

Bart


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## domerthefrog (Sep 2, 2009)

For the power loss situation, have you ever considered a small UPS batter backup? It could very easily remedy that situation for power flickers, short powerouttages, etc. But im not sure how often you get them.



Diesel said:


> It's been a long time since I've been here but wanted to provide an update on the configuration. It seems the longer I use it, the more stable the RH and temperature is holding.
> 
> RH% still varies 1 to 2 % from top to bottom but it is stable at all times. I must reiterate that everytime there is a power loss, I have to raise the temp of the Vino to the warmest setting of 67 degrees (defaults back to 55-red wine default) and lower the hydra to 63.5%.
> 
> ...


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## timatraw (Jan 2, 2010)

hey diesel- Im looking into a hygrometer.
how is the oregon scientific setup working out for you.
thanks.
tim


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## Diesel (Dec 15, 2007)

timatraw said:


> hey diesel- Im looking into a hygrometer.
> how is the oregon scientific setup working out for you.
> thanks.
> tim


It's working out wonderful. I've got the main unit on my desk monitoring my room temperature and humidity. Two remote units in the Venotemp monitoring the temp and humidity which sends the information to the main. I've got a 3rd remote outside the back door monitoring the temperature only since that remote unit doesn't have any sort of humidity sensor. Keep that in mind if you buy a remote sensor for it. Ensure it has the hygrometer.


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## baggersteve (Feb 26, 2010)

I too, am gone from the house for extended periods. This looks like a nice set up, that doesn't require alot of attention. Like you, gotta keep mama happy.


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## presidentbryce (Oct 9, 2008)

Looks like quite a bit of work went into your project. Now I'm starting to give my vinotemp (that is actually in use as a wine cooler) a second look.


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## Packerjh (Nov 29, 2009)

Just digging this up while doing a search...

I am setting up a HAIER cooler as a vinodor and am looking for setup ideas.

It's been a while since the last post was done, how is your setup working now that the hot weather has hit? I'm in Nor Cal and this week it was 109 degrees....like 85 in the house. I plan to use beads 1-2 lbs and hope to not need the cooler part of the vinodor, but that remains to be seen. 

By the way...I love the way you did the hydra fans on your shelf. Great use of them and now they are out of the way!

Jason:clap2:


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Packerjh said:


> Just digging this up while doing a search...
> 
> I am setting up a HAIER cooler as a vinodor and am looking for setup ideas.
> 
> ...


Funny you mentioned a Haier wine cooler. I have a 16 count wine cooler that I just dug out on Friday night. The door has been open all weekend to get the plastic smell out.


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## ajk170 (Feb 17, 2010)

Hey Phil- I'm looking into the vino as well - do you have any lessons-learned from your conversion or anything you'd do differently?

Thanks!

Andy


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## djangos (Mar 14, 2011)

So much information! Makes me want to get a vino!


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